(1) Strengthening international cooperation

1. The COA held and attended bilateral agricultural cooperation and trade meetings, promoted discussions regarding quarantine and inspection of exported agricultural products and protection of plant variety rights, while cooperating with Southeast Asian nations on implementing rapid pesticide residue testing and agricultural biotechnology training.

2. The COA invited Mr. Bart Kiewier, the president of the EU’s Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) to visit Taiwan in March, facilitating the practical utilization of Taiwan’s Phalaenopsis orchids DUS test reports, simplifying the process of applying for Phalaenopsis orchid plant variety rights in the EU and enhancing the competitiveness of Taiwan’s orchid industry.

3. In May, the COA Minister Chen led a team to Israel to promote cooperation on water conservation and irrigation, fertigation systems, computerized dairy cow feeding and breeding management, potential orchid production collaboration, and plant variety right protections.

4. The COA co-sponsored the Symposium on Food in Health Security in the Asia Pacific Region, inviting experts to speak on these subjects. Participants from America, Germany, Australia, Korea, and Singapore, along with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN representative stationed in Thailand discussed and worked to reach a consensus on these issues. Through such exchanges, Taiwan can increase its visibility abroad.

5. In order to expand international fishery cooperation, the COA enabled links between Taiwanese fishing vessels and 25 separate regions and nations, including Micronesia, to embark on a total of 720 sea outings in 2009. The COA also took part in 33 international regional fishery industry organization meetings.

6. In November, the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) held the Eighth Meeting of the International Consultations in Auckland, New Zealand. During the meeting, it was agreed that Taiwan will be a full committee member when the organization is officially established; the first time Taiwan has achieved this status in a non-tuna regional international fishery management organization.

(2) Enhancing global marketing

1. Promoting Taiwan’s agricultural products to the world

　In 2009, the COA worked to actively expand the global market for Taiwanese agricultural products, choosing 29 key and potential export products for a comprehensive marketing campaign. We assisted agro-businesses to attend a total of 32 international agricultural exhibitions and 322 overseas promotional activities. Ten companies received guidance on brand image and package design, while 18 overseas business people and firms visited Taiwan. Although affected by the global economic crisis, export growth rates of groupers, Phalaenopsis orchids, vegetable soybeans, and headed lettuce were 281.7%, 20%, 9.3%, and 87.5%, respectively in 2009. The Regulations Governing the Transportation of Live Farmed Fish on Fishing Vessels were revised to relax application restrictions, enabling the legal export of grouper to Hong Kong. In 2009, a total of 4,800 metric tons of grouper, valued at approximately NT$1.7 billion, was transported to Hong Kong.

2. Enhancing export supply chain management

　The COA continued to promote a safety management system for mangoes and carrot production system for Japan-bound goods and aquaculture pre-export drug residue testing and self-management. The COA successfully implemented a barcode traceability system and proceeded with pre-export pesticide residue testing to improve the safety of agricultural products for export. A total of nine agricultural organizations received guidance to improve their export distribution centers and related equipment, strengthening export supply chain management.

(3) Promoting cross-strait agricultural exchange

　Cross-strait agricultural exchanges encompass trade, investment, technology, and personnel. The COA hopes to establish a mutually beneficial, complementary relationship built on equality and reciprocity. The COA continues to promote the exchange of expert agricultural personnel. In 2009, a total of 285 mainland Chinese groups (3,592 individuals) were invited for agricultural exchanges, enabling Taiwan to collect and analyze information about mainland Chinese agriculture, investigate potential cross-strait fishery cooperation, and analyze mainland Chinese fruit production and trade. The COA arranges visits to China in order to better manage agricultural investment, while strengthening management of proprietary crops and sensitive domestic agricultural technologies, to create a sound mechanism to protect agricultural intellectual property.

　The fourth round of the Chiang-Chen agricultural negotiations were held on December 22, 2009. During the meeting, both sides signed the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation in Fishing Crew Affairs” and the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation in Quarantine and Inspection of Agricultural Products” to improve the rights and interests of domestic agricultural and fishery workers.

(4) Strengthening international agricultural and fishery cooperation

1. The COA attended WTO trade talks and activities with other international organizations. We worked to also bring international activities to Taiwan in an effort to better integrate Taiwan with the world, develop mutually-beneficial partnerships with other nations, and cultivate world-class agricultural specialists and administrators. In addition, the COA also worked to strengthen the agricultural development of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies. We promoted bilateral technology, personnel, and information exchange to introduce key, first-world agricultural techniques, and accelerate upgrades to Taiwan’s agricultural technology. Through training our diplomatic allies’ agricultural production and technical personnel, we hope to promote their agricultural development and open markets for our technical services.

2. The COA continued to attend preparatory commission meetings for the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) along with the meetings of other similar fishery-related organizations, such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention (WCPFC), the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna like Species (ISC), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO).. Taking part in these organizations serves to strengthen multilateral relations between Taiwan and intergovernmental organizations, ensure the sustainability of high-seas fishery resources, while maintaining Taiwan’s status abroad and protecting the rights and interest of Taiwan’s fishermen.

3. In August, the COA and our Chilean counterpart signed a supplemental clause to the previous bilateral lychee and starfruit work plan. In October, the COA held two international symposiums covering zoonotic disease prevention and quarantine strategy and food safety, along with the APEC Symposium on the Implementation of Important OIE Aquatic Animal Health Standards. In December, the ROC invited Ms. Gretchen Stanton, Senior Counselor, WTO Secretariat, to Taiwan to speak at a workshop on the implications of the SPS agreement on food safety, animal, and plant health.

4. In February 2009, the COA officially joined the UN Global Seed Bank Project, adding some 12,000 seeds from Taiwan, including rice and other grains as well as vegetables, into a vault as insurance against global catastrophes. This is a concrete example of participation in the protective work of global biodiversity and food safety and represents a new page for Taiwan agriculture in terms of international cooperation and development.

5. The COA actively participated in relevant activities of international organizations, including APEC, AARDO, APAARI, and APO, and held agricultural conferences for international organizations, and held in Taiwan the APAARI Executive Committee Meeting, the APAARI Meeting of Biocide and Fertilizer Experts, APEC, and APO. The COA also sent 56 people to take part in international conferences or symposiums to help Taiwan agriculture get in step with rest of the world.